Background. People diagnosed with schizophrenia
present empathy deficits that have been related to
their poor psychosocial functioning. The objectives
were: 1) analyse the relation between empathy, social
cognition and quality of life in subjects diagnosed with
schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; 2) evaluate
these variables according to the severity of the
features.
Methods. Fort ...
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Background. People diagnosed with schizophrenia
present empathy deficits that have been related to
their poor psychosocial functioning. The objectives
were: 1) analyse the relation between empathy, social
cognition and quality of life in subjects diagnosed with
schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; 2) evaluate
these variables according to the severity of the
features.
Methods. Forty-one patients, divided into two groups
according to the level of severity, were included. A
battery of tests was applied: Interpersonal Reactivity
Index (IRI), GEOPTE scale of social cognition for
psychosis, World Health Organization Quality of Life
Assessment: Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Clinical
Global Impression scale (CGI), Scale for the Assessment
of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and Negative
Symptoms (SANS).
Results. There was a direct relationship between personal
anxiety and fantasy sub-scales of the IRI and the
GEOPTE scale, and an inverse relationship with several
dimensions of quality of life of the WHOQOL-BREF.
The GEOPTE scale had an inverse relation with all the
dimensions of quality of life evaluated. The mildly sick
group obtained scores that were significantly lower in
fantasy (15.44 vs. 20.12; p=0.001) and significantly higher
in psychological health (58.63 vs. 45.40; p=0.017) and
environment (67.00 vs. 53.68; p=0.006).
Conclusions. A relationship is found between empathy,
social condition and perceived quality of life in
people diagnosed with schizophrenia on programs of
psycho-social rehabilitation. Similarly, the existence of
relevant differences in these variables according to the
level of severity of the clinical features is underscored [--]